Supreme Court ruling overturned in B.T.L. case

There has been yet another change in direction in the legal wrangling over control of B.T.L., but depending on who you talk to, Monday’s ruling by the Belize Court of Appeal changes everything… or nothing at all. The Court of Appeal has set aside three of four declarations made by the Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh in April when he ruled that the Government and E-Com were entitled to control the board with six seats to Innovative Communication Company’s two. The Prosser camp immediately interpreted the reversal as a major victory for their side, claiming Jeffrey Prosser has been restored as Chairman of the board. What’s more, they say the decision effectively nullifies the sale of all B.T.L. shares over the past few months, including any to Michael Ashcroft. However, Attorney General Francis Fonseca this evening told News Five that the Appeals Court has not yet given its reasons for reversing the declarations, but in his view and that of his legal advisors, as far as they see it, “Nothing has changed in terms of the status quo of the board.” He pointed to the fact that the Appeals Court did not reverse a fourth declaration which upholds the authority of the majority holder of “C” shares to appoint four directors. With that still intact, he says the board is free to meet and vote in new members, since it is the government of Belize and E-com which hold a combined majority of “C” shares, not Prosser. As to I.C.C.’s claim that the reversal effectively nullifies the recent sale of B.T.L. shares, Fonseca maintains that is “hot air and nonsense” since any sales were conducted under a legally constituted board of directors. Regarding the special share that Prosser does hold, he said that issue is before the Public Utilities Commission right now and we will have to wait and see how that plays out in that arena. The Court of Appeal will give its written reason for judgement when the court is in full session, sometime in October.